Going All-In, with Chester Elton – Episode 35 of The Action Catalyst Podcast

Author, executive coach, and culture consultant Chester Elton walks us through how to create an all-in culture in our business, including managing culture during crisis, and why the customer experience will never exceed the employee experience.

About Chester:

Chester Elton is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Business Author, Organizational Culture, Employee Engagement, and Leadership Expert.

One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring, and always entertaining talks, Elton provides real solutions to leaders looking to build culture, drive innovation, and enhance wellness. Elton’s work is supported by research with more than one million working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams.

He has been called the “Apostle of Appreciation” by Canada’s Globe and Mail, “creative and refreshing‚” by the New York Times, and a “must-read for modern managers” by CNN. Elton co-authored multiple award-winning bestselling leadership books, including All In, The Carrot Principle, Leading with Gratitude, and Anxiety at Work. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold more than 1.6 million copies worldwide. The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fast Company, and the New York Times often quote Elton. He has appeared on NBC’s Today, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, and CBS’s 60 Minutes.

Elton is a Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches member and a Thinkers 50 Coaching Award winner. He’s consistently ranked among the world’s top leadership and organizational culture experts. Elton co-founded The Culture Works, a global consultancy, and is a board member of Camp Corral, a non-profit for the children of wounded and fallen military heroes. He is a leadership consultant and executive coach to firms such as American Express, The World Bank, Zoox, Momofuku, MetroHealth, McKee Foods, and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL.

He is most proud to be the father of four exceptional children and three delightful grandchildren and married to the amazing Heidi for 40 years.

Learn more at ChesterElton.com and TheCultureWorks.com.

The Action Catalyst is presented by the Southwestern Family of Companies. With each episode, the podcast features some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Learn more at TheActionCatalyst.com, subscribe below or wherever you listen to podcasts, and be sure to leave a rating and review!

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(Transcribed using A.I. / May include errors):

Host
He has been called the Apostle of Appreciation. Chester Elton is his name, and he is the author, co author, of several New York Times bestsellers. He is also a Southwestern Advantage alumni. Sold books door to door when he was in college, and just an expert in the marketplace on appreciation and creating workplace culture and so Chester, thank you so much for being with us.

Chester Elton
Thanks for calling.

Host
So one of the things that you say right up front, which I just think is so true, is that there is not nearly enough emphasis placed on the value of culture.

Chester Elton
Sure. We have done a lot of work rewarding and recognizing employees in the workplace, and we’ve had a lot of really interesting, a lot of research or case studies about your reward people, and they’ll give you their better effort the next time there’s higher engagement with lower turnover and someone, as we talked with top leaders, they’d say, Listen, there’s no question, we need to appreciate and engage our employees more, and we need better Teamwork it’s your silos, you know, to get things done, but at the end of the conversations, they say, but you know, if we don’t get the culture right, it doesn’t matter. It’s almost one of those things where you say, I know it when I see it. And what we wanted to look for was not only great case studies and examples of high performing coaches, but we wanted to find out what were the common elements. Could you build a model around that that would then be transferable to other organizations so predictable that were absolutely transferable, that could you know any business anywhere be better today than they were yesterday?

Host
Got it. Okay. You say that the secret of moving a business forward is getting your workplace population to differentiate you.

Chester Elton
Sure. Well, you know, it’s really interesting because your competition can replicate basically everything you do in a very short period of time, right? They can replicate your products, your your your suppliers, your commission structure. But what is really hard to replicate is that culture. There’s something about walking into an Apple Store, its a completely different experience. They’re just hiring engaged, smart, fun people that love their product, that use the product and and are there to help you, you know, not just to sell you more product, but to help you communicate better. Help you put the photo books together to help build your small business. I mean, there’s there’s a bug there. I always laugh at the Apple Stores are the new toy store. So we talked about, it’s the people that make the difference. And good cultures attract the right people, and just as strongly they reject the wrong people. In the high performing cultures, there was an emotional connection to work. It wasn’t just what you did and how you did it, but it was why you did it. And the great organizations understood the why and translated that to their people. And we tell the story of this great Acrobat that would cross Niagara Falls with this little wheelbarrow. He shows up at Niagara Falls to cross the fall, and he starts working the crowd, and he starts calling who believes I can cross the fall? And you know, they all shared we believe, because, you know, they’d seen them do it before. And then he said, who believes I can cross the falls with my wheelbarrow? And again, they all cheered, because they see him do it before. Then he asked the important question. Well, if you all believe, then who will get in the wheelbarrow? And at that point, a hush falls over the crowd, because there’s a difference between saying you believe and actually getting in the wheelbarrow. In high performance cultures, people really do believe what they do matters and that they make a difference every day, and we add to that, and when they make a difference, it’s noticed and celebrated. That’s the foundation of really healthy high performing culture. Also, we found, by the way, it’s a great place to work. So there’s all kinds of, you know, ripple effects that go through there to enhance the workplace.

Host
So how do you get somebody emotional about making boxes, or how do you get someone emotional about serving customers coming through your drive through window? How do you get them emotional and passionate about your business?

Chester Elton
Well, we talk about the noble cause. You know, what is your noble cause? Whether you’re making boxes or you’re, you know, you’re serving food. At a restaurant, there’s a bigger purpose behind what’s going on there. And a great example of that is at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant, you know, I mean, it’s your restaurant, right? But right from the top on down, you talked about their mission. They talked about legendary food and legendary service, and that’s their model, and it’s very simple. That’s another thing. Simplicity really helps drive emotional engagement. I know exactly what we’re talking about, right? It’s not their vision, isn’t we believe in caring for our customers and their families and the environment from which they come from. You know, in all these catch phrases, and it goes on and on and on. Or what I love about it is, you know, legendary food, legendary service. And so they really pride themselves on creating this a legendary experience for you and your family. You know, restaurants are where memories are made, and they get that and so everything around that experience, they want to be legendary. So the way that you’re greeted at the door to their way to carve their meat. And the other part is they want to make it affordable. You know, they think it’s an experience that every family should be able to have. So they talk about things being legendary, where the where the servers can go to the cook and say, Look, you put this plate out here. It’s just not legendary. Can you try again? And nobody takes offense, because they’re all in it, you know, to create that experience. Now, when you talk about legendary experience, here’s what Texas Roadhouse understands, and it’s that the customer experience will never exceed the employee experience. Okay, so if they want their employees to give legendary service, they gotta create a legendary employee. And they do. They understand that they’re not just employees, but they’re part of the family. And so when you start looking at that, you say, hey, you know they’re just serving beer and burgers, you know? Well, no, they’re not. They’re creating memories. They’re creating opportunities. They’re creating legendary experiences, 360 degrees, around the experience. So yeah, you know, whether you’re making boxes or whatever, I think you create that opportunity the way you treat people, the way impact your community, and the way you treat your customers, and any kind of work can be fulfilling and engaging.

Host
So what, what does trust have to do with creating this sort of all in culture, like, how does that tie in with everything that we’re talking about?

Chester Elton
Sure, well, you know, to your point about trust, there are two steps in particular that that one was that there’s a partnership. There’s even say and or one is that you share in this communication. Now, in some other relationship, we were doing some consulting work with the financial institution. They said, Look, you know, there are laws that prohibit us from sharing everything, right? But the point is, is I share with you when I can what’s judicious and what’s important, so that I can enable you to do your job. And what it does is it cut down on the on the rumor mill and and the Twitter posts and so on about what’s really going on. There are very few things that will erode an organization faster than a lack of trust. If you don’t trust your boss, get out. I mean, just get out. The point is, is, if there’s no trust, there’s nothing you can’t build on anything. It’s It’s the foundation from which everything is built.

Host
So what about this? What if you’re trying to turn around a culture in the midst of crisis? What are some of the keys to turning around culture in the middle of crisis?

Chester Elton
Well when you’re in situations like that, you cannot over communicate. Town hall meetings, regular postings come from the leadership on down, right? And you develop that tradition. It’s something you do all the time, and you have that regular dialogue with your people, and you answer questions, and if you don’t know the answer, you just say, Hey, I don’t know the answer. Or, I do know the answer, but I just can’t share it with you now, right? It would be irresponsible. So I think that record communication and setting up vehicles to do that. Those these principles. They are great principles for building critical organizations. A lot of these principles apply to your personal life as well. You know, we talk about rooting for each other, which we didn’t get to today. That how we encourage each other and share for each other. That’s an important element at work with your important element in our personal lives, you know?

Host
Well, best to you, and thanks for being on the show.

Chester Elton
Yeah. Take care.